US equity futures experienced a notable rise ahead of Monday's opening bell, with the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite leading the pack amid overwhelming optimism surrounding artificial intelligence advancements. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.4%, the S&P 500 futures increased by 0.8%, and Nasdaq futures surged by 1%.
This positive momentum in technology stocks follows Microsoft President Brad Smith's announcement that the company plans to invest a staggering $80 billion in fiscal 2025 to establish artificial intelligence-enabled data centers across the globe. As oil prices also saw a boost, the front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude was noted to be up 0.5%, reaching $76.92 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude similarly increased by 0.5%, hitting $74.33 per barrel.
Investors await the upcoming US factory orders report, scheduled for release at 10 am ET, where expectations suggest a decline of 0.3% in November after a modest uptick of 0.2% in October, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Looking at international markets, Japan's Nikkei index closed 1.5% lower, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended down 0.4% and China's Shanghai Composite fell by 0.1%.
In contrast, the UK's FTSE 100 index gained 0.2%, and Germany's DAX index saw a rise of 1.1% during Europe's early afternoon trading session. In stock performances, shares of Microsoft saw a pre-bell increase of 1%. Meanwhile, CytoMed Therapeutics shares experienced a remarkable rise of 28% after the company announced a collaboration with India's SunAct Cancer Institute, aiming to advance a promising treatment candidate for solid tumors. On the downside, shares of T-Mobile US faced a 1.5% decline after Wells Fargo and RBC downgraded their ratings on the stock, adjusting them to equal weight and sector perform, respectively.
Such mixed performances underscore the variation in market dynamics as investors navigate the evolving landscape of technology and healthcare..